Removing vegetation can help protect houses during wildfires

“It’s common sense that increased vegetation increases wildfire risk, but this study shows just how powerful individual action can be in safeguarding structures. Mitigation actions that can cut risk nearly in half are statistically meaningful to anyone with a stake in this peril,” said Attila Toth, CEO of Zesty.ai. (Credit: Mattias Bokinge/Shutterstock.com)

Buildings with high amounts of vegetation within five feet were destroyed in a wildfire 78% of the time, nearly twice as high as structures with small amounts of perimeter vegetation, according to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). This pattern was confirmed to hold true from distances ranging from 30-100 feet around a property.

Keeping a building’s perimeter clear of vegetation can nearly double the likelihood of surviving a wildfire, according to the research, which was conducted in conjunction with Zesty.ai, an AI-based climate risk analytics provider.